SWTOR: Character Creation, Impressions & Haffle’s Sith Saga

Now you know a bit of my story. Who am I and what my true purpose is will have to wait for now. Let’s talk about character creation. Initial customization choices are good, as there are lots of options to create a visually expressive toon that’s suitable for a Bioware game. Look, I’m going to be starring in a lot of cutscenes so I really put impetus on myself to look good.

Plenty of sliders for head, eyes, hair colors and the like but I’m a little let down by body shapes. I had to chose between a malnourished bloke, the guy next door, the football quarterback or the fat one. Option two was the one I selected, and in the end I am pretty pleased with how I turned out. It’s definitely a bastard child of the Lotro and Dragon age Haffleheim, which I dig. I am aware that more character customization can be unlocked in the store for future use, but bugger that for now.

The Haffleheim creation process.

My one true disappointment is the lack of (or non-existent) choices for character voices. The entire game is fully voiced but we get a single, non-selectable voice for our characters. Ultimately, I now have a silky, seductive British accent that I must use forever to convey my bad-assery in space. Tea on my starship at 5.

I do realize that this is a four year old MMO now, and what is out on live will probably stay that way for a long time. So the gripe didn’t last long. With character creation out of the way, I have been thinking about how best to document my journey, without spoiling any of the plot. So many planets to see, Jedi to kill and plots to uncover. Let’s hope (I hope) this will be fun as hell, because I want my subscription money to be worth it. May the Force be with me.

Haffle’s Sith Saga Part 1

Haffle has arrived.

I have the Force, and have been sent to Korriban to undergo trials and determine if I am Sith material. To be specific, I am here to become a Sith Warrior. A dual lightsaber wielding killing machine. The first thing I notice about Korriban is the sand. Lot’s of sand! Fittingly, the starter planet is crawling with tombs that become the playground for the initial quests. And the first thing I learn upon arriving is that people already want me dead. Unbelievable, but justifiable, considering I will become the best acolyte around. Rivalries happen. That has pretty much set my mood and tone when socializing, and I can be nasty. This is a far cry from previous Haffles in other games, who champion justice, dignity, honor and all that crap. Away with that. I want to be a meanie in this MMO.

With the formalities done with, I move on to tackling the tombs to upgrade my training sword so I don’t get bullied by these rival acolytes. When do I get my lightsaber? Very, very, very much looking forward to that, so the bullied becomes to bully. Combat itself is surprisingly fun and different from what I’m used to. I think the best way to describe it would be comparing SWTOR’s combat system to that of Rift. I do see the similarities. Each class has buffs that they cast and most skills have shared timer of some sort.

The perks of having a sub is great. I get to sprint at level 1! (Yes you pay to run. Ridiculouso.) But thankfully, Korriban is very much explorable on foot regardless if you’re sprinting or not, and I like that there are taxis in various hubs to air-lift you around for free or a small fee. The other perks include mounts at an earlier level (also something I’m looking forward to) and an enhanced XP gain. This is great, and I noticed I was racking up the levels like there’s no tomorrow. Also helps that there’s an XP event buff going on until the 31st, and I suspect it has something to do with the release of The Force Awakens.

Taxi ride! I know where Wildstar got their idea from.

At the end of the day, I get what I’m looking for and return to my overseer slightly stronger than I left him, ready for the next challenge on my way to becoming Sith. And I really hope I get that lightsaber soon. Here’s another selfie.

As far as first impressions go, I’m impressed. My interest here is definitely helped by the movie hype, but the more I go on, the more engrossed I get. The art style and graphics are a plus, and I can see myself having some fun with outfitting later on. Same mantra here: look good = play good. The story telling is great as expected, and I love choices and consequences. You definitely need to spend the cash to get the best out of your enjoyment here, but F2P will not hold you back if you don’t care for the MMO elements, and just want to play through the class stories like a single player RPG.

I am here for the MMO stuff too, so I’m treading carefully. Hoping the PVP won’t be garbage.

Onwards to the next chapter, whenever that time comes, and may the force be with you.

I had my first PvP experience last night, and I am starting to agree. And there is so many Warzones I haven’t tried yet. But I really like that the action is fast paced and no matter how low level or under geared you are, you and your team still have a chance.